Meetings

Upcoming Meetings

Our monthly meetings occur on the second Thursday of each month—download this recurring calendar appointment to save the date. After we finalize the location and agenda for an upcoming meeting, we'll send a reminder to all members and open the meeting registration on this page.

Your TSPE Fort Worth and Mid-Cities Chapters are once again hosting this years E-Week Banquet on Friday, February 19th from 11:30-1:30PM in the Ballroom of Ridglea County Club with guest speaker Glenn Isbell, Jr.!

Glenn Isbell is the vice president of Rapid Prototyping & Manufacturing Innovation at Bell where he is responsible for bringing radical new concepts to market quickly as well as driving the manufacturing technology to drastically reduce cost and improve throughput on Bells next generation of products.

Glenn is a seasoned executive with 22 years of significant contributions to Bell. He has held a number of vital leadership roles in engineering, aircraft programs, and Business Systems Modernization. He has served as vice president of Xworx; vice president, Business Optimization where he was involved in nearly every aspect of the company’s operations and most recently as executive vice president supporting the strategic alignment, growth and oversight of all services and support of our commercial products worldwide.

Glenn joined Bell in 1996 as a design engineer at the New Product Development Center. Since then he has served in a number of key engineering leadership positions, including wiring and installation, integrated product team lead on the H-1 Program and manager of Experimental Engineering at Xworx.

During his first 11 years with the company, Glenn worked on 19 developmental aircraft with design/build responsibility for nine of them. He then transitioned into a leadership role where he was responsible for establishing the vision and deploying Bell ‘s Product Lifecycle Management (PLM & CAD) design systems; one of the broadest deployments ever executed at Textron.

Glenn served as director, Systems Engineering and Engineering Operations (SE & EO) for several years prior to being named the vice president, Xworx where he was responsible for Research, Development, Test and Evaluation.

In his role as vice president of Business Optimization, Glenn developed the strategic direction and worked to transition Bell’s business model to be more competitive in the global marketplace. His ability to view work from the customers perspective and see how business processes, systems and product designs tie together to provide a strategic advantage, serves him well in his new role.

Glenn holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University and a Master of Business Administration from The Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University, where he graduated as a Neeley Scholar. He is also a certified Textron Six Sigma Green Belt.

To become a sponsor for our banquet, please contact Jacob Hays at jhays@halff.com. We hope you’ll join us for a great event honoring our Chapter’s award winners and raising funds to support our scholarship program.

We will need all attendee names, company names, cellphone and email contact information, 48-hours before the event, so they can be pre-registered in the BNSF system.

Parking: To assure ample parking, please use the attached Campus Map. If parking spots are available attendees can park in front of the ‘Customer Support Center (Building A)’, which is colored orange on the map. Attendees will use the crosswalks to cross the street towards the Visitors Center entrance in the ‘Marketing Office Building (MOB)’, which is colored light brown on the map. ID check and badging will occur once inside this area (consider that this will take time to process all of the attendees, so the closer to 11am they arrive, the better).

November 8, 2018

Free valet parking is available at the front of Reata. Validated parking is also available to the 3rd Street Parking Garage. Carpooling encouraged!

Ken is currently a Sr. Consultant with IT Nexus, Inc. With a background in capital planning, data analysis, water modeling, and GIS, Ken assists utilities in developing and implementing data and information management solutions for planning, management, and decision-making. He enjoys working with others to bring order and clarity to our work to attain greater personal and organizational fulfillment. Ken has a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University, and a M.S. in Water Resources and Environmental Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin.

Clair is the Engineering Manager & Floodplain Administrator at the city. He is also the FEMA/NFIP program manager, leading a team of professional engineers focused on urban and rural flood and erosion hazard identification, risk communication, and mitigation outreach. Overseeing the flood warning system expansion and storm water design standard updates.

Ricardo Gonzalez is the Transportation Planning and Development Director for the Fort Worth District of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). A TxDOT employee since 1995, Gonzalez began his career as a summer hire in the El Paso District's design section and survey crew. After graduating in 1997 from Texas Tech University with his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, he began working in Bridge Design and earned his license as a professional engineer in 2002. Gonzalez then spent the next three years in the Inspection Branch where he coordinated all international bridge inspections with corresponding officials from Mexico.

Gonzalez transferred to the Fort Worth District in 2006 as a construction engineer. In 2009, he was named deputy project construction manager for the $1 billion DFW Connector public-private partnership. In 2011, he was promoted to North Tarrant County area engineer. During that time, he oversaw the $4 billion North Tarrant Express, including the procurement and construction of Interstate 35W, and the successful delivery of the West 7th Street bridge, the world’s first pre-cast network bridge. After being selected as the director of maintenance in 2014, he oversaw a $120 million maintenance program and worked to improve the district’s four-year pavement management plan. Gonzalez was named transportation planning and development director in 2018.

As director of transportation planning and development, Gonzalez oversees the district’s Bridge Design, Bridge Inspection, Central Design, District Design, Public Transportation, Right of Way and Transportation Planning and Development offices. Under Gonzalez’ supervision, the district oversees more than $400 million in awarded contracts each year in cooperation with the North Central Texas Council of Governments and our regional partners. In addition, he is currently overseeing the district’s $591 million Texas Clear Lanes congestion relief projects.777 Main St. #4000 (top floor) Fort Worth, Texas 76102Directions (Google Maps)

Ricardo Gonzalez is the Transportation Planning and Development Director for the Fort Worth District of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). A TxDOT employee since 1995, Gonzalez began his career as a summer hire in the El Paso District's design section and survey crew. After graduating in 1997 from Texas Tech University with his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, he began working in Bridge Design and earned his license as a professional engineer in 2002. Gonzalez then spent the next three years in the Inspection Branch where he coordinated all international bridge inspections with corresponding officials from Mexico.

Gonzalez transferred to the Fort Worth District in 2006 as a construction engineer. In 2009, he was named deputy project construction manager for the $1 billion DFW Connector public-private partnership. In 2011, he was promoted to North Tarrant County area engineer. During that time, he oversaw the $4 billion North Tarrant Express, including the procurement and construction of Interstate 35W, and the successful delivery of the West 7th Street bridge, the world’s first pre-cast network bridge. After being selected as the director of maintenance in 2014, he oversaw a $120 million maintenance program and worked to improve the district’s four-year pavement management plan. Gonzalez was named transportation planning and development director in 2018.

As director of transportation planning and development, Gonzalez oversees the district’s Bridge Design, Bridge Inspection, Central Design, District Design, Public Transportation, Right of Way and Transportation Planning and Development offices. Under Gonzalez’ supervision, the district oversees more than $400 million in awarded contracts each year in cooperation with the North Central Texas Council of Governments and our regional partners. In addition, he is currently overseeing the district’s $591 million Texas Clear Lanes congestion relief projects.

Mr. Rademaker is a graduate of Iowa State University from which he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Sanitary Engineering.

He has over 40 years of engineering experience involving both the private and public sectors. Mr. Rademaker served as a Senior Project Manager delivering water and wastewater projects for Donahue & Associates, a national consulting firm with headquarters in the Midwest for 10 years. In 1987, he joined the City of Austin, Texas as a Senior Project Manager where he led the Project Management Division in the Transportation & Public Works Department. Mr. Rademaker was appointed to the post of Austin’s City Engineer in 1990.

In 1992 he joined the City of Fort Worth as the Director of Engineering and served as Fort Worth’s City Engineer for sixteen years. In that capacity Mr. Rademaker was responsible for the design, construction and inspection of most City capital infrastructure projects. He also was instrumental in development of the City’s Gas Lease Program.

In 2008 Mr. Rademaker led the City’s efforts to establish the City’s first centralized Program Management Office and served as Deputy Director of that office until he retired from the City in 2015.

In 2016, Mr. Rademaker was engaged by the City of Fort Worth to serve as the City’s Project Manager for the ongoing Trinity River Vision Bridge project.

Brenda Hicks-Sorensen currently serves as the Assistant Director with the City of Fort Worth, Texas, Economic Development Department. As Assistant Director, she is responsible for a team focused on strategic development and revitalization, which includes existing business development, business recruitment, tax increment financing districts, and targeted area redevelopment. She is also the project manager for the City’s economic development strategic plan.

Prior to her time in Texas, Brenda served in various economic and community development leadership roles, including as the director of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development; president and founder of Economic and Community Development Solutions; vice president of Economic and Community Development with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation; and president of the Fond du Lac County (Wisconsin) Economic Development Corporation.

Brenda earned her certified economic developer designation in 2005. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, and a Master of Science degree in Urban Studies with an emphasis in Public Policy and Economic Development from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Brenda has served on numerous boards throughout her career and has earned several prestigious awards and designations for her work in the economic and community development field. These include the Outstanding New Economic Developer of the Year from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), Outstanding Young Alumni from the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh, and the President’s Award from the Site Selector’s Guild.

Richard Strickland is the President of The Strickland Group, Inc. (TSG). TSG provides petroleum consulting services in thearea of reservoir and geological engineering to oil-and-gas producers, pipeline companies, and otherparties in the oil and gas business. Richard has been in the consulting business for 36 years with a majoremphasis on reservoir engineering, numerical simulation and reserve estimation. He has performed studieson fields throughout the United States, Eastern and Western Europe, the North Sea, the Middle-East, China, Africa, CIS countries, India, Indonesia, Central America and South America.

He has a B.S., M.S., and a PhD in Petroleum Engineering from Texas A&M University and was an AssociateProfessor of Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M University for six years, teaching courses in reservoirengineering and the numerical simulation of oil and gas reservoirs. He has also taught these same subjectsin over seventy-five company run, or industry sponsored courses attended by reservoir engineers andgeoscientists from practically every major oil company in the world.

Richard Strickland is a registered professional engineer in the State of Texas and a member of the National Society ofProfessional Engineers. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and have held severalpositions at the national and local level. Richard served as an officer and director of the Accrediting Boardof Engineering and Technology, which accredits graduate and undergraduate engineering programs in theUnited States, and have served on this board’s Engineering Accreditation Commission, which is the onlybody that accredits such programs in the United States.

The TCU senior design team will present their project on: Ballistic Catch Box

Lockheed Martin Missile and Fire Control is sponsoring a continuing project to design, build, test and deliver a projectile catch box. LM MFC currently uses a launcher and catch box to test small-scale electronics in a high-g environment. This year’s team significantly increased the launch energy of the projectiles from the previous year’s project, along with the facilities, data acquisition, materials and procedures to safely conduct the tests.

April 12, 2018

Program: “Water for Texas, Water for the Future”Keynote Speaker: Kathleen Jackson, Texas Water Development BoardThursday, April 12, 201811:30 AM – 1:30 PM

Kathleen Jackson was reappointed to the Texas Water Development Board by Governor Greg Abbott on March 9, 2017. She was appointed to the Board by Governor Rick Perry on March 18, 2014.

Jackson has a diverse background representing agricultural, environmental, industrial, and wholesale-supply interests, which includes developing and implementing water management strategies for Southeast Texas. As a registered professional engineer, Jackson served as public affairs manager for one of the world's largest petroleum and petrochemical producers.

Additionally, she was involved in production agriculture with her late husband, who ran a cattle operation and farmed rice. She served as a past member of the Lower Neches Valley Authority Board of Directors, the Texas Water Conservation Association, and participated on the Sabine and Neches Rivers Bay and Estuary Environmental Flows Assessment Program Stakeholders Committee.

She is also a board member and past president of the Lamar Institute of Technology Foundation, a sustaining member of the Junior League of Beaumont, a member of the Texas Farm Bureau, past president of the American Cancer Society of North Jefferson County, and a past board member of Junior Achievement of the Golden Triangle.

Jackson received a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from North Carolina State University.

Jackson has three children, sixth-generation Texans, who all reside and work in Texas.

Your TSPE Fort Worth and Mid-Cities Chapters are once again hosting this years E-Week Banquet on Friday, February 23rd from 11:30-1:30PM in the Oak Room of the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History with guest speaker Mayor Jeff Williams!

Jeff Williams was elected to the office of Mayor of the City of Arlington in May 2015 after decades of public service in Arlington.

Mayor Williams is president of Arlington based Graham Associates, Inc., an award-winning engineering and planning firm. He has worked on a host of Arlington-based projects, including: AT&T Stadium, the I.H. 30 Three Bridges Project, Globe Life Park, River Legacy Living Science Center, the Parks Mall, the Viridian development and the Richard Greene Linear Park. In 2009, Williams was presented with the State of Texas Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award.

During his 30 years in Arlington, Williams has been heavily involved in the community. His approach to leadership is inclusive and built on a foundation of finding consensus. That can be seen in many of Williams’ projects including the 2008 Arlington City Bond Election Committee and the 2014 AISD School Bond Election Committee. He chaired both committees and both bonds passed by wide margins. In 2014, Williams served on the City of Arlington’s Comprehensive Planning Committee. Mayor Williams has held leadership and volunteer roles in a variety of Arlington organizations including the Chamber of Commerce, YMCA, PTA, Salvation Army, Mission Arlington and River Legacy Foundation. His community service has been recognized with the Vandergriff Community Leadership Award.

A graduate of Texas Tech University with a degree in civil engineering, Williams was inducted into the university’s Civil Engineering Academy for Engineering Excellence.

More than three decades ago, Williams and his wife Karen picked Arlington over other North Texas communities to raise their family, in part because of the quality of education in the Arlington Independent School District. All three of his children went to AISD schools throughout their public education, graduating from Martin High School. Their oldest daughter taught first grade at AISD’s Rocquemore Elementary for three years. The Williams are active members of First Baptist Church of Arlington where he has served in numerous leadership roles including chairman of the Board of Deacons and chairman of the Building, Masterplanning, and Property Acquisition Committee.

Pay-to-Park is available at three locations; the Museum Lot, Western Heritage Garage, and the Will Rogers West Lot. Those that wish to park in the Museum Lot may purchase parking vouchers at the Box Office and are only valid for the Museum Lot. The other lots are managed by the City of Fort Worth and are pay as you go with an hourly rate.

Please see the link below for details on how your company can become a sponsor for this year’s event. We hope you’ll join us for a great event honoring our Chapter’s award winners and raising funds to support our scholarship program.

J.P. B. Vogel is a partner and the leader of Gray Reed & McGraw’s Construction Law section. J.P. is a trusted advisor and litigator for businesses and individuals involved in the construction industry throughout Texas and the United States. His clientele includes owners, general contractors, specialty sub-contractors, suppliers, and manufacturers. For many of his clients, J.P. routinely provides counsel regarding their daily business operations including litigation, collection services, labor and employment issues, defect and insurance issues, drafting and negotiating agreements, and corporate governance. J.P. is a Dallas/Fort Worth native, and a proud graduate of St. Mary’s University School of Law, Texas A&M University-College Station, and Highland Park High School.

Tim Fandrey understands construction and the business of construction. He represents contractors and subcontractors on a wide variety of construction matters including construction claims and litigation, lien and bond claims, giving of real time project advice and contract negotiation. Prior to law school, Tim worked as a civil engineer for over four years, gaining experience in both the private and public sector. Tim designed dozens of bridges and roadways for the Missouri Department of Transportation. While working in the private sector, Tim developed project management skills by managing bridge and roadway design projects. Tim earned his B.S. in civil engineering from University of Missouri and his J.D., magna cum laude, from St. Louis University School of Law.

Prior to Steve's presentation, we will have a presentation from Marcela Gonzalez, Coordinator of Volunteer Recruitment with Meals on Wheels of Tarrant County!

Steven Eubanks, a registered professional engineer and certified floodplain manager, has been named the Richard Van Trump Award winner by the Fort Worth Chapter of the Texas Society of Professional Engineers. The Fort Worth Chapter instituted the Richard Van Trump Award in 1971 as a means to recognize an exemplary member or members for service to the chapter during the previous year and to give honor to the late Richard Van Trump, PE. The recipient is selected by the chapter’s past president to recognize those whom he finds most helpful and deserving in service to the chapter during the past president’s year in office.

Eubanks was born in Austin and grew up in north Dallas. He earned a Bachelor of Environmental Design at Texas A&M University in 1979 and then served in campus ministry in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Akron, Ohio. He also began his engineering career in Akron as a board draftsman. Eubanks moved to Fort Worth in 1983, where he earned a Master of Divinity followed by doctoral studies at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, while working as a surveyor technician and then as an engineering technician. When the door to ministry closed, Eubanks earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington in 1995.

After being licensed as a professional engineer in 1997, Eubanks joined the City of Fort Worth in 1999 where he has served in several positions in the Stormwater Management Division. He has led several training workshops and spoken at numerous local, state and national conferences. Eubanks founded the Young Engineers Leadership Forum in 2015 to provide professional training for young engineers. He serves as Co-Chair for the Stormwater Committee of the Texas Floodplain Management Association and Chairman of the Young Engineers Committee of the Texas Society of Professional Engineers. Eubanks was also named Engineer of the Year in 2016 by the Fort Worth Chapter. He and his wife Shirley have three grown children.

October 12, 2017

Dan Buhman is the Assistant General Manager of the Tarrant Regional Water District. He earned both Bachelors and Masters degrees in Civil Engineering, is a registered Professional Engineer in three states, and spent the first 14 years of his career as a consulting engineer, working on both design and planning of water projects. At the Water District Dan oversees the Planning, Government Relations, Real Estate, Environmental, Information Technology, and Project Management groups. He was a small business owner prior to joining the District and has been a consultant to water providers throughout the country and in Texas.

Join us and learn why/what/how the Tarrant Regional Water District is so crucial to our region’s future. In addition to meeting our committee chairs, volunteers and new members, we’ll hear from Dan Buhman, the Assistant General Manager of the Tarrant Regional Water District, where he oversees Water Supply Planning, Real Estate, Environmental Services and several other departments!

For more than 90 years, TRWD has improved the quality of life in the communities we serve by providing a reliable and sustainable water supply, vital flood protection and an outstanding variety of recreational opportunities.

Gannon has 16 years of architectural and design experience. His responsibilities include working with owners and design architects to create buildings that are sustainable and innovative while still meeting project requirements. Gannon has also been involved in programming through construction on multiple projects. He has been a design team member and project architect for a variety of projects in both the private and public sectors, including residential, higher education and corporate. Gannon currently serves as the Chairman of the City of Fort Worth Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission.

Gannon earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Texas at Arlington and earned his graduate degree at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, with his thesis on mixed-use high rise design. When not working away at the office, he enjoys large format photography, golf and spending time with his family.

Chad Brewer has spent his entire 18-year construction career with Balfour Beatty. He began his career as a project engineer and worked his way to managing some of the company’s largest local projects, including the Gaylord Texan Resort and Conference Center and the Omni Dallas Convention Center Hotel. Now serving as operations director for the Fort Worth office, Chad is actively involved with all phases of his projects, and works closely with the client to ensure their goals and expectations are met or exceeded.

Chad earned his undergraduate degree at Midwestern State University, and his Masters of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.

Ms. McEwan is widely known for her transportation expertise and knowledge of project development and advancement. She works closely with project sponsors at the state and local levels including elected officials and decision makers on transportation infrastructure projects.

Prior to founding Grace & McEwan Consulting, Jennifer served as Senior Policy Director at Greenberg Traurig in the Government Law & Policy practice in the firm’s Austin office. She is experienced in advocacy and policy research for regional and statewide mobility coalitions, chamber organizations, trade associations, institutions of higher learning and public education coalitions, in addition to numerous statewide appointed task forces and the Sunset Advisory Commission. Jennifer is also experienced in developing and implementing strategies and supporting data for advocacy and, working with state legislators, county commissioner courts, and county judges and other elected officials regarding transportation and infrastructure policy issues. She currently serves as Treasurer of the Transportation Advocates of Texas, and policy director for the Texas Transportation Alliance.

Jennifer has a B.A. in Political Science from Texas A&M University and a Ph.D. in Government from the University of Texas at Austin.

Scot Bennett has been serving as Beck’s Director of Client Services for the Fort Worth Regional Office since 2013.

Scot studied Business at Arizona State University and Architecture at Woodbury University and has spent the last 20 years in the Design and Construction Industry. Scot is client-focused, solution oriented and understands these skills must be utilized to negotiate good business deals and terms for the Beck Team.

Scot started his career as an architectural intern and moved into design and then leadership. He is known for his ability to understand clients’ long-term goals and often maintains involvement throughout the delivery process to assure these goals are met. This gift of working with people extends to Beck’s internal team as well, who rely on him for mentorship and development.

Scot enjoys building strong connections within the local community and has been active in the Fort Worth area through participation in local professional organizations such as the Fort Worth Chamber, the Real Estate Council, the Urban Land Institute as well as charitable organizations, including The Salvation Army and Camp Fire where he is currently a board member.

Jeff Taylor is a Principal at Dunaway Associates and serves as the Director of Site Development Services. Jeff works closely with both the internal and external project design teams to ensure quality service is being delivered on all projects. Jeff is a graduate of Texas A&M University with degree in Civil Engineering. His experience includes initial program development, commercial site development, program management as well as public and private infrastructure design for medical, industrial, hospitality, higher-education and professional office building facilities.

Scott Drennan serves as director of Bell’s newly formulated Innovation team at Bell Helicopter. Scott earned a BS is Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland and a Masters of Liberal Arts from Southern Methodist University.

He joined Bell Helicopter in 1993 as an airframe structural analyst on the V-22 EMD program. His career in structures as both a direct employee and contractor for Bell focused mainly on tiltrotors. In addition, he worked on many of Bell’s helicopter programs such as the M407, M427, M429 and received his first taste of pure research work during a 2-year assignment on the Advanced Airframe Structures team where he contributed to the Composites Affordability Initiative sponsored by Wright Patterson Research Lab in Dayton.

Scott joined the ranks of Bell’s engineering management team in 2011 while in the middle of an 8-year assignment in Italy supporting the Leonardo-Bell partnership on the 609 program. Recent positions include director & chief engineer of the Bell 609 program and director of Air Vehicle Integration.

Today, Scott is proud to carry on Bell’s rich tradition of innovation as a leader in Bell’s innovation community. Bell’s new Innovation team’s mission is to depart from past practices and principles and radically innovate technologies and aircraft configurations in order to illuminate the future for the Bell business and change the way the world flies.

Brian joined the FWTA team in January. Brian has 20 years in public relations experience driving communications and media outreach across diverse industries. As an award-winning public relations executive, his areas of expertise include crisis communications, public/media relations, business development, campaigns and promotions, and social media, among others. Brian is a member of the Fort Worth Rotary and serves as the Treasurer for the Greater Fort Worth Public Relations Society of America.

The TCU senior design team will present their project on Design of an Automated Adhesive Dispensing System sponsored by Klein Tools, a major hand tools manufacturer in US. One of Klein Tools products is called a fish rod that is used by professional electricians to pull wiring through walls and conduits to route wires. The current fish rod assembly process involves manually dispensing glue into the metal connectors. The team developed a fully automated glue dispensing system that consists of a connector orientation system, a customized conveyor system, a glue dispensing system, a control system and a human machine interface. The team will discuss the design and construction of the system and show the operation of the system.

The Trinity River Vision Authority (TRVA) is responsible for the implementation of a public infrastructure project which provides needed flood protection and fosters the development of Panther Island – an exciting, pedestrian oriented, urban waterfront neighborhood in Fort Worth. TRVA aims to attract businesses and entertainment to the district and is in charge of programming public spaces including Panther Island Pavilion, a waterfront venue and festival space directly adjacent to downtown. Panther Island is a key component of a larger Trinity River Vision – which is enhancing the river corridor throughout the greater Fort Worth area.

Bio:

Matt Oliver has worked in public relations and community outreach for the Trinity River Vision project since September of 2009. He serves as the media contact for TRVA, gives project updates to a wide range of organizations, manages print media projects and assists with the execution of events related to the project.

This month’s meeting will be held next Thursday, March 9th at the Movie Tavern in West 7th! We will watch “Incident at Morales” and follow it up with a discussion of the ethical issues portrayed in the film. We are excited to announce that Trish Smith will once again be on hand to moderate the discussion. Attendance at this meeting is the best way to satisfy your ethics credit for the year! The price to attend is $30 (sorry, no government discount for this special event).

E-Week 2017 is fast approaching. Last year’s lunch banquet at Ridglea Country Club was another success, therefore we decided to carry that tradition forward again into this year’s celebration. Mark your calendars for Friday, February 24th from 11:30 to 1:30 for this year’s E-Week Banquet! This year we are honored to have Lieutenant Commander Sam W. Werschky, P.E. address our club as the key-note speaker. Please see the link below for details on how your company can become a sponsor for this year’s event. We hope you’ll join us for a great event honoring our Chapter’s award winners and raising funds to support our scholarship program.

Jerry is currently the Chief of the Water Resources Branch, for the Fort Worth District and has served as the Chief of the Water Management Section within the Water Resources Branch. The Water Resources Branch manages and conducts investigations for 27 flood control reservoirs, levee systems, flood damage reduction projects and supports FEMA through the InFRM Team activities. Jerry is also the senior leader for national teams within USACE engaged in developing new and innovative tools to support the USACE water resources and water management missions.

After graduating from the University of Texas at Arlington with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, Jerry began his career with the US Army Corps of Engineers in 1980 as a hydraulic engineer within the Water Resources Branch. In 1984, Jerry left federal service and practiced as a consulting engineer until 1994 when he returned to work for USACE in the Water Resources Branch. During his career, Jerry has worked on water resource projects for municipal, county and federal governments in locations throughout the world.

The Alzheimer's Association--North Central Texas Chapter is a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) nonprofit, donor-supported organization. Programs and services are made possible through contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations. The chapter uses 77% of all funds raised for programs, services and research efforts.

Brianna will be informing us about their programs and services and ways the community can get involved.

The American Council of Engineering Companies of Tarrant County (ACEC Tarrant) and the Fort Worth Chapter of the Texas Society of Professional Engineers (Fort Worth TSPE) would like to invite you to a pre-legislative session panel to discuss infrastructure issues and insights prior to the 85th Legislative Session. The format will follow that of two years ago - one moderator and 3-4 questions about infrastructure initiatives in the state (ongoing funding, implementation of projects, oversight of agencies, etc.) and the thoughts about those from the following elected leaders.

We are excited to announce that have confirmed our Panel Members! They are:

Norse Technologies is a manufacturer’s representative, distributor and solutions provider for Industrial Instrumentation and Controls. Items such as flow, pressure, actuated control and on/off valves, relative humidity/temperature, temperature, displacement, etc. First day of business, February 14th, 1997.

Brian Lund is the president and owner of Norse Technologies, Inc. with 30 years of experience. Brian is a graduate of Texas A&M’s college of engineering and also holds a master of science degree in engineering from the University of Texas Arlington.

Trish has been associated with TSPE for over 18 years overseeing the programs and staff of the organization. Her responsibilities include oversight of the legislative, education, membership, finance and human resource areas. She is also the Executive Director and a Trustee of the Texas Engineering Foundation and manages the TSPE Political Action Committee for Engineers (PACE) Board.

Prior to joining TSPE she served as the Coordinator and Program Manager at the Murdough Center for Engineering Professionalism at Texas Tech Unviersity where she assisted in the delivery of engineering ethics seminars to engineering faculty, private firms, TxDOT and engineering students. She was also Program Manager for the team that developed the NAFTA Code of Conduct which is part of the NAFTA Mutual Recognition Document that was adopted by the governments of Canada, Mexico and the US.

In her earlier career she spent over fifteen years involved in the legal field working in positions from secretary, assistant to the Dean of the Texas Tech School of Law and administrator of a 55-person law firm.

She is married to Thorne Smith and they are proud of his son Tyler who recently graduated from the University of Chicago with degrees in Physics and Computer Science and is employed at National Instruments where he was recently selected as the Rookie of the Year.

Parking: After turning north from Western Center Blvd onto Lou Menk Drive, take the first right towards the East Office Building and park in the first lot on the right. Proceed to the Visitor Center entrance in the Marketing Office Building (MOB) for ID check and badging.

John Ho, P.E., has over 30 years of civil engineering experience in the private and public sectors. As a Vice President with Huitt-Zollars, John’s responsibilities include business development and project management for public works clients in the DFW area.

John is a graduate of SMU and a Past President of the Dallas Chapter of the Texas Society of Professional Engineers (TSPE). He is currently serving as the State TSPE Executive Vice President. John is a frequent speaker at engineering schools in the area, presenting on the importance of licensure and internship. In 2012, John received a Certificate of Recognition from National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) for his energetic support, and excellence in membership recruitment and retention.

John and his wife, Becky have three children and four grandchildren. He has traveled overseas on mission trips to Peru, Taiwan and Panama. Locally, he enjoys refereeing youth soccer games.

Help us honor the Fort Worth Chapter of TSPE Young Engineer of the Year, Engineer of the Year, and Richard Van Trump award, the DFW Mid-Cities Chapter of TSPE Young Engineer of the Year and Engineer of the Year, and the ASCE Fort Worth Branch Young Engineer of the Year! This will be a wonderful event at a prestigious venue full of socializing, wonderful food, and awards. The keynote speaker this year will be the Mayor of Arlington, Jeff Williams, PE.

Tickets are $50 per person or $500 for a reserved table of ten. Reservation is REQUIRED for the Banquet. Reservations for the Banquet must be made no later than close of business Thursday, February 18, 2015. You may reserve by clicking the button above or by contacting Scott Scherer, P.E. at (817) 688-3488 or sscherer@hkseng.com. When your reservation is made, please be sure to provide names (with spelling) and affiliations for all guests. Please provide contact information (email or phone number) in case we have questions.

Also, sponsorships are still available. Last year’s sponsors enabled the Fort Worth Chapter to provide $10,000 in direct scholarships in 2015 and we hope to provide that same amount this year. We want you to be a part of this wonderful opportunity to support the future of the engineering profession. The Engineers Week sponsorships are the PRIMARY source of funding for these scholarships and without your generous support we would not be able to protect to the future of the engineering profession by providing these scholarships to our high school seniors. Click herefor more information about sponsorships.